


Firelight

by clockwork_spider



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Roleswap, Romance, the beauty of confirmation bias
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-28 00:10:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15036356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clockwork_spider/pseuds/clockwork_spider
Summary: Nine years after her uncle Yuhon murdered her father, Princess Yona, with the help of Hak and the wind tribe, killed her uncle and took back the throne.Due to Kija’s misunderstanding, Soowon was mistaken for Hiryuu reincarnated.Jaeha? Jaeha just wanted a travel companion.





	Firelight

When Jaeha met Won in Awa, they hit off immediately. The young man was pleasant, infectiously cheerful, easy on the eyes, and most importantly, a good listener.

“You’re certainly light on your feet,” Won had said, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. And there was the way Won phrased it, interested but not probing.

“I’ve been told.” Jaeha had answered with a smile. His status as the Green Dragon was no secret. He wanted to know if Won would probe further.

But Won didn’t. Neither did he ask the crew. Later, Jaeha told Won about his cursed leg.

“It’s an incredible curse,” Won said. He didn’t understand the burden of it, didn’t need to. It wasn’t something worth explaining.

“It lead me here.”

“And a useful one at that,” Won acknowledged with a smile, steady and reassuring. He didn’t question Jaeha’s choice of word, didn’t call it a blessing, and Jaeha was grateful for that.

Garou had once told him that no one would ever accept them with legs like that. Jaeha wished Garou could be here now, hear the awe and wonder in Won’s voice.

But Won was also full of secrets, and commanded people like he was born for it. Judging from his mannerism, he was likely a nobel. What he was doing in Awa, helping a bunch of pirates take down the governor, was beyond Jaeha.

Jaeha was there the moment Won cut down Yang Kumji. Under the firelight, the golden locks shone like the glint of his sword. He caught the man’s eyes then, absolute with an edge of brutality, and found himself unable to look away.

“Where do you want to go from here?” Jaeha asked, and for a brief, passing glimpse, Won looked lost.

“I plan to travel for a bit,” Won answered, “there are things I need to see.” There was steel in those words, certain, like the blade that sliced through Kumji’s neck.

“I’ll come with you.” Jaeha offered. He didn’t know whether Won was dangerous, but he knew the man shouldn’t be left on his own. “Now that Yang Kumji is gone, I’d like to see the world as well. Until I find a new place to settle, we can travel together.”

_Fly away._

Won’s expression went from excitement to hesitance. “I’d like that,” he said, there was a hint of sadness in his smile.

And at that moment, Jaeha wanted to reach for Won’s hands and hold them in his own, to brush the hair from the young man’s face.

The moment passed.

“Companions, then.” He said.

Won’s smile was dazzling.

* * *

So they travelled, and in the span of a few weeks Jaeha had seen Won on his hands and knees more time than he could count, caring for the sick and the elderly.

He’d seen Won, standing between angry soldiers and frightened villagers with an easy smile. He’s seen Won shield a villager with his body when he could have easily fought back, and somehow it worked. He’d seen the world bend to Won’s will over and over, and the times it didn’t. He’d seen Won as he held a dying child in his arm, whispering “it’s alright, you’ll be okay, you’re safe” as the light faded from her eyes, heard Won’s quiet oath “we have to do better, I have to do better.”

Won was a man on a mission, and it was a mission Jaeha has came to share.

Somewhere along the journey, they found the Blue Dragon. Jaeha didn’t mind it as much as he thought he would.

Somewhere along the journey, he held Won’s hand in his own.

* * *

The White Dragon’s proclamation was like a slap in the face.

“King Hiryuu,” the young man, Kija, had knelt before Won, head bowed to the ground in reverence.

It all made sense, Won’s magnetic powers, his ability to bend the world to his will, his obvious status of nobility. Jaeha was too blind to see it.

“So, are you Hiryuu now?” Jaeha asked later, away from the village, away from his newfound “brothers”.

“I’m not.”  

“How can you be sure?”

“As flattering as it is to be compared to our country’s founder,” Won huffed lightly, twirling a piece of grass in his hand, “I don’t intend to be someone I hardly know.”

“The curse in my left leg… There’s a prophecy, you know. Once King Hiryuu is reborn, the dragons will serve the King once more. I didn’t want to serve some king I never even met, so I made a promise to myself. If I ever meet Hiryuu, I’ll run the other direction and never look back.”

Won studied him, and grew quiet.

“Are you leaving, then?” Won asked. He didn’t ask Jaeha to stay. His hand twitched and curled in on itself.

“That depends.” Jaeha wanted to reach forward, to hold the hands in his own, but it wasn’t the right time.

Won smiled, formal, open, inviting, “Come, I’ll tell you guys who I am. It’s a bit overdue.”

* * *

Prince Soowon, son of King Yuhon, who had murdered his own brother for the throne nine years ago. It was only fitting for King Yuhon to be killed by his brother’s daughter.

“Do you want revenge?” Jaeha asked.

Kija looked uneasy.

“What this country need right now is stability, not another coup,” Soowon said, not answering the question.

His avoidance was telling enough.

“I won’t help you kill the empress,” Jaeha stated.

Kija looked like he wanted to protest, but didn’t say anything. Perhaps even he was uncomfortable with helping the son of a usurper usurp again.

“Then I won’t ask that of you,” Soowon answered. “Extended war, over-taxation to feed the expansion of territories, broken trade relations with our neighbours, those are the wounds to Kouka left by my father, and I intend to fix them.”

“I had once intended to take the throne myself, but what is done is done. My cousin no doubt has her visions, but she is young and inexperienced, and I cannot be there to guide her. But I will do whatever I can to learn and guide this nation. So I will ask all of you to lend me your strengths. Not as Hiryuu, not as dragons, but as citizens of Kouka.”

Soowon’s eyes shone with the glint of steel, and at that moment Jaeha was back to the Port of Awa, back on Yang Kumji’s ship, and Soowon shone under the firelight, dizzying, dazzling. _‘We have to do better.’_ A man on a mission.

Jaeha remembered girls with hands tied behind their backs, of the fire tribe village, of the children that smiled at him for the meagre provision of food. Was the mission not his own?

“I won’t participate in plots I don’t understand,” he said. It would be the same for his newfound “brothers”, even Seiryuu should not be used by his attachment to Won.

“Then I’ll explain them to you,” Soowon said, leaning forward, hand to his heart, voice clear and powerful, “You’re my companions. I have not… will not use your powers for anything you disapprove of.”

His instinct was right. Won was dangerous.

So, even though it was cruel, even though he didn’t have to, Jaeha asked again, as gently as he could.  

“Won, do you want revenge?”

Because he knew there’d be a day where he wouldn’t be able to say no.

“I want…” there was helpless panic in Soowon’s eyes, before it all faded to blankness. He stared at Jaeha with wide eyes, still as a statue.

The silence seemed to stretch on forever.

“They were my friends, I loved them,” Won finally answered, voice barely above a whisper, eyes to the ground.

_Oh._

It was Seiryuu who acted first, taking off his mask and handing it to Soowon. It made Soowon smile. Won’s smile was nice.

“You are my King, I swore to follow you wherever you go, that won’t change.” Kija knelt, saying something pure, simple, and expected, “but I also want to learn about this kingdom, and do my duty as a dragon to protect and improve it. Please use me as you will.”

Won was looking at him now, eyes beckoning, almost pleading.

“I’m not here to follow any king, Soowon dear, but as your most beautiful travelling companion and a concerned citizen of Kouka, I’ll lend you an arm, well, leg.”  _Please stop looking so sad._

“Prince Soowon is the most beautiful one here,” said Kija seriously, which made Soowon laugh, a peal of light, airy laughter that made him double over with effort and sent relief to Jaeha’s bones.

“That may be true, my dear brother, but I am still the most beautiful companion,” he settled beside them, leaning closer.

“You are most beautiful, thank you, Jaeha,” Soowon said, relief in his voice. He leaned forward. Briefly, their forehead touched. Soowon’s hand felt warm against the side of his head.

“Zeno thinks the Young Mister has a nice goal too,” said the blond man by the fire.

“Who are you and where did you come from?”

* * *

Fire. It felt like his body was on fire. Every bone was being broken simultaneously. Kija was shouting something at him, frantic, he couldn’t hear, could hardly see straight. 

He really shouldn’t have taken that wine.* 

When he came to, it was to Soowon’s cool fingers on his forehead, brushing away sweat dampened hair. 

“You scared Seiryuu, you know,” his companion chastised, a faint trace of relief in his voice. 

“Ah, sorry,” Jaeha croaked. His throat felt raw, perhaps he was screaming earlier. 

Soowon just stared at him without speaking, expression blank, before looking away. 

“I can’t afford to lose you, Jaeha,” he whispered. 

“You won’t. I’m right here, Soowon. I’m okay.” Jaeha took the white knuckled hands into his own, held onto it like a lifeline in an ocean of dizziness.  _ I won’t leave you.  _

* * *

His new tall dark haired handsome friend took one look at Soowon and froze on the spot. Soowon did the same.

“So… you two know each other?"

“Yes,” Soowon said, quietly, with a white knuckled grip on his sword. 

Immediately, Jaeha turned to face the source of danger, placing himself between Soowon and the man who called himself Hak. His dragon “brothers” were out of sight, distracting themselves at the market. 

But Hak turned his back on them. 

“I don’t see anyone here,” he said, loudly, deliberately. He was letting them go. 

“Is that all you have to say, after all this time?” Asked Soowon, in a tone Jaeha couldn’t quite recognize. Jaeha placed his own hand atop of Soowon’s. He had never seen Soowon like this. Whatever it was, Soowon needed to keep his calm. 

Hak didn’t look at them. 

Soowon released the hilt of his sword and drew a deep breath. His eyes flickered back to Jaeha and gave him a shaky smile. 

“You’re here to investigate the Nadai issue. I have information on the man you’re looking for,” said Soowon, “let’s have a chat.”

It looked like Won was himself again. They were going to be fine. 

And that was when a young girl walked in. 

“Yona…” 

Immediately, Jaeha felt his knees hit the floor. 

His blood itself was screaming.  _ Love her. Serve her. Protect her.  _

_ Hiryuu.  _

Soowon was saying something, hands on him and eyes wide with concern, but all Jaeha could focus on was  _ her  _ and  _ she was Hiryuu and it was never Soowon. It was never Soowon.  _

“I need to get away from here,” he said aloud, to Soowon, to the concerned young girl, fight or flight kicking in. 

_ If Hiryuu ever finds me, I’ll run.  _

Jaeha ran, he ran until the scenery no longer resembled the town, until his heartbeat drowned out his blood’s screams for Hiryuu. 

He left Soowon.

He left Soowon with people who could have been their enemy. Not only that, he’d left Seiryuu, and Zeno, and Kija. They would find Hiryuu when they return, and they would feel the same reckoning as he did. Seiryuu, innocent to the world, who knew nothing but oppression from his blood. He had left him to face Hiryuu alone. 

Jeaha cursed under his breath. The moment when it mattered, he ran. He did exactly what he promised not to do. 

Taking a deep breath, he ran back. 

* * *

When Jaeha got back, everyone was still alive and nothing was on fire.

“Kija’s going to follow Yona,” Soowon sat down beside him. He seemed calm, nothing like when he first saw the Wind General. “Are you okay?” There was concern in his voice. 

_ Oh. _

“You were worried about me,” Jaeha teased. 

“Of course,” Soowon answered, non-accusingly, with such casual honesty that Jaeha felt a little bad. 

“I thought it’d be okay if it was you,” Jaeha admitted, “When I set my eyes on her, I wanted to give my life to her. Thousands of years of duty, all for this moment, and I don’t even know her.” 

It felt like a violation. 

“What do you want to do?” Asked Soowon, head tilted, hair curtaining the side of his face.

“When I saw your eyes back in Awa, when you were down on your hands and knees helping the sick and the elderly back in Kuuto… I thought it would be okay if it was you,” Jaeha answered. He smiled, eyes meeting Soowon’s once more, “I’m glad it isn’t, though.” 

Closing his eyes, Jaeha closed the distance between their lips. It was soft, light, with a hint of a promise. 

Soowon blinked, face turning the deepest shade of red Jaeha has ever seen. “Me too,” Soowon answered, before returning the kiss, relieved but hesitant. Their fingers intertwined. 

Behind his closed lids, Jaeha could see firelight. 

**Author's Note:**

> *Refer to Nadai incident in manga. 
> 
> Thanks for Mooselk and EHyde for beta. 
> 
> My earlier drafts have more scenes with Yona and a bit more on how they met Seiryuu... These may just translate to other fics instead. It was too hard to pick a focus if I include all those in here.


End file.
